Avoid Florida permit rejection — get your plans printed right, first time

What Florida permit submissions actually require

Florida operates under the Florida Building Code (FBC), currently in its 8th Edition with a 9th Edition in development for 2026. The FBC is enforced locally by each county and municipality — requirements are consistent statewide at the code level but local building departments add their own checklists and submittal requirements.

• 1
  Two or more complete sets of construction documents

  FBC Section 107.3.1 requires at minimum two approved sets — one retained by the building department, one kept on the job site. Most Florida counties require 2–3 sets for residential and 3–4 sets for commercial, plus separate copies for trade permits (electrical, plumbing, mechanical). Confirm the exact count with your local building department before ordering prints.
• 2
  Scale clearly indicated on every sheet — and must be accurate

  Florida site plan requirements mandate a drawn-to-scale map with a graphical scale bar on every sheet. Scale must be indicated in the title block (e.g., 1/4"=1'-0" for floor plans, 1"=20' for site plans) and the drawing must actually print at that scale. A plan where the title block says 1/4"=1'-0" but prints at a different size is an automatic rejection.
• 3
  Complete title block on every sheet

  Every Florida permit drawing must include: project name and address, owner name and address, designer or engineer of record name and license number, date prepared, revision history, sheet number and total sheet count, legal description matching county property records exactly. A mismatch in the legal description is a common rejection trigger.
• 4
  Engineer or architect seal (most commercial, some residential)

  Commercial construction in Florida requires plans sealed by a Florida-licensed architect (Ch. 481 F.S.) or engineer (Ch. 471 F.S.). Each discipline's sheets must be signed, sealed, and dated by the responsible professional. HB 267 (effective January 2025) eliminated the sealed drawing requirement for like-for-like replacement of windows, doors, and garage doors in single-family and two-family dwellings.
• 5
  Florida-specific content requirements

  Florida permit drawings must include: a life safety plan for every floor, a code analysis referencing the specific FBC edition used, North arrow and vicinity map on site plans, flood zone designation and Base Flood Elevation (BFE) if applicable, wind speed and exposure category for structural design. Miami-Dade and Broward counties in the High Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) have additional impact-resistance documentation requirements.
• 6
  Sheet size — 24×36 (ARCH D) preferred statewide

  While Florida does not mandate a specific sheet size in the FBC, the vast majority of Florida building departments require a minimum of 18×24 (ARCH C) and strongly prefer 24×36 (ARCH D) for full plan reviews. Drawings submitted at letter size or tabloid for a full construction document set are routinely rejected. Miami-Dade specifically requires hard copy submissions at 24×36 for most projects.

Why Florida permit sets get sent back

Florida building departments operate on strict checklists. Even a single missing element — a forgotten north arrow, a scale mismatch, an incorrect legal description — sends your submission back to square one. These are the most common rejection triggers we see across Florida counties.

What we catch before your set ships

FedEx Office and Staples print what you upload — wrong scale, incomplete set, they'll hand it back to you as-is. We don't. Every permit set that comes through Azul Prints is reviewed by a real print technician before production begins.

We ship to every Florida building department

Azul Prints ships to any Florida address via UPS. Same-day shipping on orders before 12 PM EST. Here are notes on major Florida markets and their specific permit considerations.